Ou Yangming turned to ask softly, “Squad Leader Yan, are you going to fight too?”
Yan Haobo laughed. “Of course, we’re not here to watch with folded arms.”
The direct attacks were important, but it was crucial for the others to contain the beast too. Needless to say, even the ones who were in charge of containing the brown bear had to have a cultivation base of at least Yin Grade Class Two, or one would simply be courting death.
Ou Yangming tapped the military saber carried on his waist, then handed it to Yan Haobo. “My armor’s tailored to my size, so it can’t fit you, but this saber will be useful for you.”
Yan Haobo’s eyes glowed right away. “Thank you, Master Ou.”
Dazzling light was seen the moment he pulled the military saber out. When he channeled some essential Qi into it, a mysterious power was fed back into his body.
“An Attribute Military Saber!” Yan Haobo’s eyes shone brighter, and he became more confident.
Yu Hailiang cast a confused look at him. “This is a High Grade Attribute Military Saber, and it looks like it’s better than mine…”
Ou Yangming could tell that Yu Hailiang’s military saber was of High Grade too, but it was not at the peak. Nonetheless, it would easily be a great saber if it had some Power attribute. On the other hand, the saber given to Yan Haobo was a weakened version of an already weak saber. Not only did it not have the Devouring attribute, but its Power attribute was reduced from 4 points to 2 points.
Despite all that, the military saber given to Yan Haobo was superior to Yu Hailiang’s.
Fortunately, Ou Yangming only lent it to Yan Haobo. If he had given it as a gift instead, Yu Hailiang would be moved.
“Squad Leader Yan, come over and spread some on your saber too,” Yu Hailiang called out to him. With the sharp military saber, Yan Haobo was able to be one of the main forces in the fight.
After half an hour, everyone finally set out.
Not everyone was qualified to join, so there were only more than ten of them including Ou Yangming and the archers.
When Ou Yangming mentioned that he wanted to watch the fight, Yu Hailiang and the others refused to let him come along, but Ou Yangming raged and swore that he would head there himself even if they disallowed him. Consequently, they could only allow him to join them, but he had to promise that he would stick with Jiang Chengwei without moving around himself.
Ou Yangming agreed right away. He was a smart person, hence he was definitely not going to play with a half-spirit beast.
Besides, he could watch the fight safely by staying with Jiang Chengwei, so how could he be unhappy?
They journeyed slowly in the forest. According to Yu Hailiang, although they failed their mission and escaped, they did not actually give up, hence they left two forest experts to keep watch over the beast from far.
Sure enough, a figure jumped down from a big tree when the group of people reached a spot. The person was thin, had a physique similar to Ou Yangming’s, and appeared to be a teen. However, the wrinkles on his face gave his real age away.
“Captain, that fella is still lying in its old spot. I’m guessing that it’s accumulating its power to break its blood meridians’ shackles, and transform into a real spirit beast.”
“Hmph, how can it turn into a spirit beast so easily? The Brown Earth Bear is having wishful thinking! Everyone, we’ll stick to the plan.” Yu Hailiang sneered, then looked at Jiang Chengwei deeply. “Squad Leader Jiang, our victory depends on your arrow art.”
Jiang Chengwei slapped his chest as he assured, “Captain Yu, don’t worry, there won’t be a mistake.”
Yu Hailiang nodded, then they proceeded to their own stations.
“Stay here, I’ll go up to shoot three arrows,” Jiang Chengwei instructed after leading Ou Yangming and the archers to a quiet spot, then added after a pause, “If the Brown Earth Bear goes crazy, Captain Yu and the others will contain them, and you’ll shoot its eyes with your cold arrows. Remember, its eyes are its only weak spot, and your arrows can’t shoot anywhere else.”
“Yes,” The archers responded to him. They were aware that their powers only allowed them to contain the beast, and the main forces were not actually Yu Hailiang and the others, but the Bewitching Grass’ drug efficacy.
Jiang Chengwei staggered forward with his bow and arrows, but he soon realized that something was off. He trembled when he turned to look. “Master Ou, why are you following me?”
Ou Yangming giggled. “Captain Yu asked me to stick with you, so I followed you.”
“Okay, you must be careful.” Jiang Chengwei smiled bitterly, but when he realized that Ou Yangming actually followed him quietly without being noticed, he felt chills down his spine.
Jiang Chengwei walked slowly and carefully to a giant tree, then climbed up like an ape.
Ou Yangming quickly followed suit, and when he was up there, he quickly fixed his gaze on a huge block far away.
The thing looked like a giant rock when it lay on the ground. If it was not because of its stomach that undulated rhythmically, Ou Yangming could not have noticed it so quickly.
“Squad Leader Jiang, is that fella a Brown Earth Bear? Why is its body yellow in color?” Ou Yangming asked curiously.
Jiang Chengwei was shocked. “You, you can see it?”
Ou Yangming was surprised. “Why can’t I see that big fella?”
“Master Ou, you have great eyesight, I can’t believe that you can actually tell its color.” Jiang Chengwei twitched his mouth.
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh. He knew very well that it had nothing to do with his eyesight because it was probably the amazing effect of the Vision attribute.
Chapter 59
“Master Ou, based on your eyesight, it’s honestly such a pity that you’re not an archer,” Jiang Chengwei said in a rather regretful tone.
Ou Yangming giggled and paid attention to the situation ahead without saying a word. However, due to the distance and the fact that the Brown Earth Bear was still asleep, he did not have a clear picture of what was going on.
Jiang Chengwei mentioned softly, “Master Ou, I’m making a move.”
Ou Yangming raised his eyebrows. “Okay, I’m looking forward to it.”
Jiang Chengwei nodded lightly, then retrieved his bow from behind, and placed an explosive arrow on it.
It was then when Ou Yangming sensed a subtle and unexplainable change in Jiang Chengwei’s body.
Although Jiang Chengwei was a squad leader, a squad leader was normally the one with the most profound cultivation base in a squad. Furthermore, there were very few squad leaders who were also archers in the military, but each of them was convincingly and remarkably strong.
Sure enough, the natural aura and confidence that were shown by Jiang Chengwei were unordinary.
It was as though Jiang Chengwei, who was drawing his bow at the moment, had unleashed an aura that was not inferior to Yu Hailiang’s at all.
“Whoosh—”
He shot the arrow at last.
The Brown Earth Bear was asleep, but it curled up its body to hide his belly and parts of its body that were soft. Hence, Jiang Chengwei aimed the arrow at the outer side of its belly.
After being enhanced by the Military Fire, the High Grade arrow had 15 points of Sharpness.
Even though the brown bear’s body was tough, which was difficult to be hurt by weapons, Jiang Chengwei’s arrow penetrated its skin.
“Roar… Thud…”
The Brown Earth Bear instantly awoke. It was not actually sound asleep before this because it was accumulating his power to break its blood meridians’ shackles.
Therefore, it quickly woke up when it was attacked.
Needless to say, a normal attack could not have scratched its skin at all, but Jiang Weicheng’s arrow was out of the ordinary.
Just as the Brown Earth Bear came round and did a thunderous roar, the arrow on its skin exploded, causing countless shards to shoot out.
Following that, with the outer side of the Brown Earth Bear’s belly as the center, numerous iron shards shot into its body as if a hornet’s nest had just been disturbed.
Being caught off guard by the attack, the brown bear’s roar sounded different halfway through. The half-spirit beast exhaled deeply, and almost choked to death.
Jiang Chengwei maintained a straight face, then drew its bow again to shoot another arrow.
The arrow was as fast as a shooting star, and was as frightening as thunder. It zoomed out in a flash, and struck the Brown Earth Bear’s belly.
While the brown bear was being attacked, it was still vigilant. It somewhat covered its face and head intentionally with its paw. If one wanted to shoot its eyes or its throat, even if that person was Jiang Chengwei, he might not succeed. After all, the bear’s paw was not to be taken lightly, thus Jiang Chengwei had to aim at the spot that he was most confident about to increase the success rate.
The Brown Earth Bear was heavily damaged again as almost half of the arrowhead had penetrated its body.
Jiang Chengwei did not say a word, but was full of admiration.
He was aware of his arrow’s might since he had fought against the brown bear before, hence he knew very well that he was only able to achieve this because of Ou Yangming’s efforts.
The might of a High Grade Rank One arrow and one at the peak of High Grade were completely different.
“Pow!”
The explosive arrow exploded again, and the area below the Brown Earth Bear’s belly was full of holes, which was a scene too ghastly to look at.
Once the brown bear roared painfully, it suddenly turned around to look in the direction where the arrow was shot, then began running.
Ou Yangming’s face changed. It was an explosive arrow that was even covered in crushed Bewitching Grass. Another ferocious beast would have been dead or unconscious by now.
On the opposite, the Brown Earth Bear seemed to be severely injured, but was still full of vigor and combat power.
Jiang Chengwei was well-prepared, thus he drew his bow again to launch the third arrow.
Ou Yangming naturally knew why Jiang Chengwei was in such a hurry; he was using an explosive arrow. The arrow had an enormous might, but it had a drawback, which was it could not be used during an encirclement. This was because the shards that were shot out would hurt anyone around it.
Therefore, Jiang Chengwei must shoot all three arrows before Yu Hailiang and the others attacked.
Instead of shooting the last arrow on the Brown Earth Bear’s neck, he aimed at its right leg instead.
The arrow exploded after it was shot, and it caused a fairly deep wound on the brown bear’s leg.
Despite that, the Brown Earth Bear only staggered a bit, and continued charging in their direction. The Earth seemed to be shaking with each step it took, which made clear its terrifying power.
“Go!”
Jiang Chengwei turned pale. Even though he only shot three arrows, he seemed to have emptied his power. His aura weakened as a result, and he was not as quick-witted and confident as he was earlier.
Ou Yangming was moved as he quickly understood something.
As expected, archers were different from normal martial artists. Their power could be unleashed in the shortest time possible, but they would turn weak once all their power was released.
Jiang Chengwei leaped down from the tree at once, and ran toward where the other archers were lying in ambush.
Ou Yangming hesitated, then decided to observe from another tree beside him instead of following him.
Subsequently, Yu Hailiang and the others appeared. They did not obstruct the Brown Earth Bear from the front because it was undoubtedly dumb to resist the bear forcefully at this moment. Yu Hailiang would not do that for sure.
Nonetheless, it would be fine to go around in circles with a heavily injured half-spirit beast.
However, Yu Hailiang and the others quickly noticed that the Brown Earth Bear was different from before. It did not bother about them, and was still charging crazily at the big tree where Jiang Chengwei shot the arrows from.
The injuries that the brown bear suffered triggered its guts, hence it was determined to crush the fellow that hurt him. In other words, it wanted to get rid of the most threatening archer first.
Before long, it was already under the big tree, but it did not decelerate at all. With a fearsome power, it crashed its giant body into the big tree.
The big tree underwent an undeserving accident as it was broken by the Brown Earth Bear.
A deafening sound was heard when it tilted and collapsed to the ground.
Ou Yangming was dumbstruck because the power was simply unbelievable. If a person was crashed like that, one would not survive even if one had full armor and a shield.
Fortunately, he and Jiang Chengwei had left the big tree, or they would end up like the tree.
The Brown Earth Bear did not see any trace of humans after crashing into the tree, so it turned and roared while charging at Yu Hailiang and the others.
Yu Hailiang advanced and retreated in an orderly manner around the brown bear. When the bear stormed in one direction, those who were in the other direction attacked it by stabbing its wounds with their weapons. Once it changed its direction, the soldiers reversed their roles by retreating, by which those who were falling back just now attacked instead.
Although the soldiers were not from the same camp, they were extremely familiar with the formation as they were alites, and they cooperated very well without making any mistakes.
In actual fact, they knew that it was impossible for them to kill their Brown Earth Bear by relying on their military power. Even though the bear was covered in blood, and they stabbed its wounds with their sharp weapons to inflict some extra yet minor damages, their powers could not cause anything noteworthy.
What made them confident was actually the Bewitching Grass that was spread on the arrows. As long as the medicine showed its effects, the Brown Earth Bear would not be able to withstand it.
As time passed, the brown bear became slower, and it was also moving clumsily. Especially its injured right leg that caused it to limp as though it was going to fall soon.
Yu Hailiang’s eyes glowed as it yelled, “Brothers, hold on, it’s almost down!”
The others responded to him in high fighting spirits. They were very confident because victory was in sight.
On the other hand, Jiang Chengwei, who had gathered with the other archers, was anxious because Ou Yangming was nowhere to be found. He wanted to look for the master, but the situation did not allow him to.
Luckily, Ou Yangming was not seen on the big tree when it fell, hence Jiang Chengwei was slightly relieved.
Seeing as the Brown Earth Bear was slowly becoming less of a threat, he exhaled deeply, and was no longer that concerned.
Just as everyone thought that the brown bear was exhausted and had no chance of escaping, it suddenly opened its arms and straightened its body, then roared at the sky like never before.
Next, an earthly yellow light was emitted from its body, which enveloped it right away.
“Oh no, it incited its Blood Meridian Power, retreat! Retreat!” Yu Hailiang yelled, and he sounded terrified.
As he panicked, a bitter thought crossed his mind.
“Our efforts are wasted, our efforts are wasted. I can’t believe this happened when we’re so close to victory.’
The soldiers’ faces changed as well, and everyone quickly backed off.
As for the Brown Earth Bear, it lowered its head after curbing the light, and its eyes were filled with a fit of despairing yet resentful anger.
Chapter 60
The Brown Earth Bear quivered for a while before charging.
Ou Yangming made the shocking discovery that its injuries had not recovered, and it was still bleeding. Des
pite that, its movements were not affected by its injuries, and it was much faster than when it went wild earlier.
“Split up, let’s go!” Yu Hailiang’s voice echoed in the dense forest as he ran away quickly.
Jiang Chengwei stomped his foot. “Let’s go!”
Subsequently, all archers escaped as nobody dared to stay. Even if someone noticed that Ou Yangming was nowhere to be found, nobody dared to bring it up.
The others who were surrounding the Brown Earth Bear earlier turned around to escape with all their might. Perhaps they were all hoping that the brown bear would pursue someone else.
If two armies were battling, Yu Hailiang would never abandon his team to escape.
However, they were currently up against a mad half-spirit beast that had even stimulated the Blood Meridian Power. Compared to the Brown Earth Bear, they were just like defenseless ants that could be trampled over easily.
One of the regulations in the military camp was that if something like this happened, soldiers must split up to escape instead of putting up a desperate fight. The further they were from each other, the more the time gained for their comrades. On the contrary, they were foolish if they stayed to resist the half-spirit beast.
Therefore, everyone dispersed and escaped without any hesitation once they confirmed that the Brown Earth Bear had incited the Blood Meridian Power.
Nevertheless, the brown bear was extremely violent at the moment, and it hated the humans that encircled him, hence it was not going to let them leave easily.
“Pow…”
A soldier who was escaping turned pale when the Brown Earth Bear swung its paw, so he raised his shield hopelessly. The shield could not withstand the giant paw at all, thus the man was instantly crushed into meat paste.
Following that, the brown bear sped up to catch up to another person, and the person’s head was crushed when it slammed it with its paw.
Ou Yangming breathed deeply then held it in, not moving an inch.
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